Wanderers in the Dark (First Five Chapters)
by carlos.vergara923
Summary: Humanity is facing extinction. With fifty years left to live on Earth, all hope is thrust upon Alyssa and her friends as they train at the Space Academy to become Flight Auditors - Space Voyagers who examine planets that would be suitable to live on, and a group of detectives, lead by Emiya, who investigate a threat that intends to rid humanity of that hope.


**This is the first 5 chapters of a book I intend to release in April as ebook on Amazon.**

 **Please review and offer your feedback on this excerpt. I wish to improve on my writing.**

 **Lastly, please follow me on Twitter: realcvergara**

 **THANK YOU!**

 **CHAPTER 1**

EARTH… A planet once known by humanity for the distillation of air, breezing upon every continent in both the upper and lower hemispheres. A planet once remembered as home for humans and all living creatures that a harboured a place on it. Free off worldly events… Not anymore. For not all elements of nature are within our control.

Humans once regarded themselves supreme beings, governors above all others, that all things would be determined by our laws and choices. By what we deemed fit and just. They were mistaken. As Earth continued to orbit around the very soul provider of life––the sun––our lives remained grounded by its perpetual existence. Till now.

In year 2357, an anomaly became apparent when the girth of our sun exhibited an increase. An anomaly that was forecasted to occur sometime in a future where humanity's time on Earth were no longer in the thousands. The sun was growing. Becoming a Red Giant.

For Earth, temperatures soared as a result, making climate conditions impossible to bear, even for those who had high tolerance towards extreme weather. Blasting the air-con below zero degrees proved as an ineffective remedy to maintain constant coolness while the scorching heat radiated through the walls.

Cases of severe heat strokes and hypercapnia––a condition of abnormally elevated carbon dioxide (CO2) levels in the blood, which can cause panic, hyperventilation, unconsciousness, and death––became the common ailments. Ailments that were of humanity's greatest threat to its existence.

Within three months it was reported that over two hundred thousand people died from severe heat strokes across the globe. After 6 months, the death toll was 3 million. And after a year it was said to be worse than an epidemic. No term was ever assigned to this event, as no one could ever find one that truly encompassed the despair and calamities brought upon by this anomaly. It was just nature taking its course.

Humans weren't the only species affected by this phenomenon. Nature and living inhabitants greatly suffered. A range of wild life animals became extinct. Majority of animals that survived, received harsh treatment due to frail defensive systems. Many reports by wildlife specialists documenting severe burns on living animals, and many others bursting to flame from the intensity of the sun.

Plants, trees, they all suffered. Nothing ever grew back. Lands with flourishing green lands were expelled of their colour and saturation, leaving behind vast areas of withered soils and weeds.

As well, one cannot forget the ice lands that thawed away, which elevated sea levels tenfold. Many witnessed the covered up of land where their homes resided by towering waves. Capitals to countries that were once accessible became stories recounted to the young from the old.

It was stated in a news broadcast that the human population had sharply declined to about 5 billion people, and was expected to decline further if desperate action was not taken to ensure their survival.

Days after that broadcast, experts from all around the world had gathered together in Russia to establish a new city which became known as Hesta Point. Russia was considered to be most suitable place for working conditions due the limited time of sunlight per day and temperatures ranging around 42°C. Places in other countries weren't suitable as none had lower temperatures or those coming close to the 42°C. It was here where humans saw its first glimmers of hope in a long time.

During this period, humanity took another hit, recording a human population of three billion when the sun witnessed another increase. This increase resulted in the incineration of Mercury. For Earth, the colour of the sky changed from blue to orange-brown, weather fluctuated, and the gradual disappearance of the planet's oceans. Satellite images showed Earth was becoming like its neighbour planet, Venus.

Things became chaotic for those who were still alive since resources were depleting and whoever possessed something of value had to fight for it. It was a dire situation that was exceedingly worse than the Great Depression with the sun being the primary factor of pain, loss, and disorder.

While experts laboured away, majority of the population that survived migrated, and made settlement in Russia. It took some time to adjust, but everyone was able to acclimate themselves to environment and make a life. Settlers saw the setup of towering pillars and thousands of tinted translucent material, which instantly connected when it came into contact with another, being carried away via aircraft. Experts called it Aegis.

Over the course of the construction, the design became self-explanatory. It was a dome large enough to cover the city and beyond. The construction took a year to complete, but the wait was worthwhile.

On the eve of one particular morning, people woke up enclosed by Aegis, and for the first time in a long while, felt a familiar sensation of the cool breeze that blew across the land. It seemed humanity had triumphed over their overheat predicament.

Many noticed machines gliding across the material that released cool air and had the capability of detecting and eliminating harmful elements in the air. These machines magnetically altered positions, never lingering in one place too long to avoid overheating their gears. Large wind turbines were positioned close to Aegis. All angled in a similar direction to create a current that circulated around the dome.

Two young teenagers walked out onto the street, watching everyone celebrate in joy of this achievement. Their names were Alyssa Krovana and Eikichi Aki.

Alyssa had sapphire blued eyes with medium, brown, wavy hair. She stood tall with a slender figure––apart from her legs which were slightly plumped.

Eikichi's eyes were of ashen colour. Had black head hair that was trimmed along the edge, while some hung over his forehead. His height was shy off 6-feet, and bared a physique similar to Alyssa. But with more mass across his limbs.

He closed his eyes, smiling in delight as he inhaled the air he hadn't felt in years. He glanced at his skin and noticed goose bumps. 'I've forgotten this tingling sensation.' Eikichi said. He looked at Alyssa. She appeared happy. Alyssa looked at him with a gentle expression as she appreciated the moment in silence.

Both of them watched the people cheer in celebration with younglings splashing each other with water, while families and couples remained in each other's company. Sharing the moment with the people they cared about. Cherishing as much as they could.

The following morning, this achievement soon became a distant memory.

A press statement was delivered by the creators of the barrier––there were three. People from everywhere gathered around their television set, or looked up to the blimp that televised the presentation on its side. Listening attentively to the speech from a woman, known as Monica Thatcher. Below the screen, the banner read: **'FIFTY YEARS LEFT TO LIVE?!'**

Ms Thatcher had fair skin, appearing young despite being in her late forties. Had a hard and unwavering expression. One that held courage in the face of great misfortune, captured the attention of everyone.

She looked towards the camera. 'People of earth,' she said, 'what I will convey may very much be construed as an end of our species––a notion that will be bring fear to all who listen. A fear I wish I could vanquished before it besets your mind. But I can't … From the evidence that my colleagues and I have found is just too big of an issue for any of us to ignore.'

As she spoke, Alyssa and Eikichi, both of whom were sitting at a restaurant, had their eyes fixed upon the television mounted on the wall. Their hands were still grasping hold of their cutlery without making any movement to continue eating.

'We're not safe, my fellow citizens. We're not. It brings me great pain for me to say that, but it's the truth. This barrier that has been created won't last for long. With the expectancy of the sun to continue increasing in its size and the durability of the material to withstand the heat, we have estimated that the barrier will only hold for about fifty years.'

Everyone in the restaurant was speechless. Their hopes and dreams of living life without a worry in the world were forever lost once they heard the estimate. Alyssa and Eikichi glanced at each other. Alyssa's gaze drifted down into her bowl. She watched the coriander sink to the bottom just as her hopes did.

Monica continued. 'I know the feeling you all must be bearing right now. I bear it too. But we must not let it compromise us. We cannot allow for that to happen. Not now. If anything, the moments we have from here onwards will be the most important of all. Now is the time to begin a conquest for humanity that will very much become the greatest event for humanity. And that is planet migration.'

Every single person at Hesta Point listened without averting their gaze elsewhere. Alyssa looked up. Her curiosity had been piqued by those words.

'And when I say this, I don't mean migrating to our neighbouring planet, Mars, no–I mean moving our entire civilization onto another planet in another system. We've already set up a space academy, and currently as I speak, we have people in space, engineering our space station, Edollon, for space travellers to reside after scouting distant planets in far reaching galaxies. So, should any person, who would want to participate in this academy, need only to register and pass the entrance exam at Ascent University Sport and Aquatic Centre.'

Everyone in the restaurant appeared sceptical of this plan. Though no one made a comment. They knew that there was no other alternative from escaping their predicament. Alyssa and Eikichi seem intrigued by the notion of planet migration, travelling through space and visiting planets light years away.

'Before I come to an end with this statement, I have one request for you all, and I'll put it as plainly as I can: don't waste our time. Time is of the essence and we have to ensure every decision we make from here is the right one. If you so choose to participate, I would advise you to discussed it again, especially with your family, with your friends, or anybody for that matter. Because once you're up there, it's unlikely you'll ever be on Earth again. Thank you.' With that, Monica left and the broadcast was over.

Everyone who was watching remained quiet, pondering about the possibility of space voyaging, witnessing new planets and galaxies. The restaurant became alive again. Majority people appeared excited, while others appeared doubtful.

Alyssa and Eikichi looked around at the men and women discussing about the space program before glancing at each other. Eikichi smiled at her, while Alyssa nodded in agreement. They knew what they wanted to do. A waitress came by to check on them, and in an instance, they threw their payment on the table and bolted out the door.

As they ran through the streets, they noticed other people running. Men, women, and teenagers, all heading to Ascent University.

 **R 2**

HEART WAS THUMPING fast for Alyssa. After the adrenaline rush from Monica's speech, she felt capable of changing their fate––to bear witness to new life for all life that remained on Earth. She glanced at Eikichi, who appeared cheerful about the prospect of space travel.

When they arrived at the area, they found many people queuing up for registration. No doubt the speech delivered at the press conference riled up the spirits in exhilarant younglings who desire to be symbols of hope, and matured adults who are seeking a new purpose in life, figuring this space program may be it.

Alyssa looked around and noticed hologram projections with a message to participants. Her eyes zoned in on the nearest one.

 **Y**

Please register with one of the following officials carrying a tablet

before proceeding into the building for further instructions towards your

admission into the academy.

 **Best of luck to all**

Before Alyssa could continue looking around, she was dragged by Eikichi through the crowd. 'Come on! This is a can't-miss opportunity.' he exclaimed.

They eventually got a spot in line. Both of them glanced around until their attention was captured by a holograph projection of the space suit participants would wear once they get accepted and graduate the program. It was sleek bearing a similar resemblance to military combat suits with metallic plates across the chest, abdominals and limbs.

'Next!' A man shouted

Eikichi went first. He approached the man who was holding a tablet, between two security guards. Alyssa observed the interaction between the two before another person yelled out for the next person to come forward.

Alyssa walked over. The person standing was a blonde woman, possibly in her mid-twenties with medium wavy hair and hazel eyes.

'Name, please,' the woman said.

'Alyssa Krovana'' Alyssa replied.

'And what is your age?' she asked without glancing at Alyssa as she held her pen in position to write Alyssa's age on the screen.

'16.'

'Okay. Your place of residency?'

'11/81 Fuvra St, Interpol District.'

'And last question, why are you here?' This time the woman looked at Alyssa.

 _Why am I here?_ She took a moment to gather her thoughts until she had a response, 'I...uh, I'm here to make my contribution for everyone – to free us of the trouble we're facing.'

The woman offered a gentle smile. 'Ha, admirable.' She appeared satisfied by her response. 'You may go on through.' Alyssa bowed her head, and walked past the guards.

After passing she saw Eikichi who was waiting for her. 'Ready?' he said with enthusiasm.

They continued walking where they were greeted by opening doors that made them think of wondrous opportunities. Alyssa and Eikichi entered the building. On the ground level, people from all over Hesta Point were patiently waiting for further instructions.

'Whoa, there are a lot of people here.' Eikichi remarked, glancing around at the different ethnicities and ages of people present.

The prospect of bearing witness to new planets and places other than Earth, and being a part of this wondrous opportunity to help serve humanity in their moment of need, ignited a burning flames inside the bellies of every single person standing in this room.

'That's good to see,' Alyssa said. 'Faith and trust must be place in others in order for everyone to survive.'

'I agree,' a voice said from behind.

The pair turned around. In front of them stood a male teen, who appeared to be of similar age. He had blue eyes and spikey blonde hair, wearing ragged clothes.

'I didn't mean to bother you if I did.' The blonde guy replied.

'It's okay,' Alyssa said. 'What's your name?'

'I'm Brad Thomas.' With his thumb, he pointed at himself. 'You?'

'I'm Alyssa Krovana and this is Eikichi Aki.' She gestured to Eikichi.

Eikichi stood up closer. 'Hey,' he said.

'Hey.' Looked back at them. 'You guys keen on this space program thing?'

'If we weren't, we wouldn't be here.' Eikichi quipped.

Brad chuckled. 'True.'

'How about you?'

'I want to help in any way I can. After I saw the broadcast I dropped everything I was doing and ran here as fast as I could. Figuring why not have a go.'

'I see.'

'Where are you from?' Alyssa asked.

'Australia. You?'

'Russia. Eikichi is Japanese.'

'Nice.'

Chatter around the room increased, as supervisor walked out from a large room with two assistants behind him pushing the doors aside.

'Alright, people,' the supervisor said. 'the tests have been set up and are about to commence.'

'Tests?!' Brad admonished. Everyone looked at him in bewilderment. He recoiled, diverting his attention away like nothing happened.

'You couldn't say that any louder?' Eikichi muttered to him.

The supervisor smiled and resumed speaking. 'Seeing how there are hundreds of you here, we'll be evaluating a group of 200 individuals, on your physical and mental capabilities, at a time. After you've completed your test, you'll be sent home, along with an e-mail addressed to you. It'll inform you of your performance, and whether you've been accepted into the space program.'

He continued. 'With that said, I wish you good luck and I hope everything goes well. Let's begin.' The man counted the number of people entering and gave them a wristband.

The doors were left open for everyone to see the examination room. It was a gymnasium. The two assistants asked everyone to form a queue.

While the four of them positioned themselves in the line, Brad was cursing softly to himself about the tests.

'Tests? Seriously?' Brad said. 'I didn't know there was any tests. The lady from the broadcast said nothing about it.'

'They did say there was going to be an entrance exam.' Eikichi said. 'Don't you remember?'

'I knew there was an entrance exam. Just didn't know there was going to be tests.'

'It makes sense,' Alyssa said. 'They want the best enrolled into the program.'

'Well, there's little chance of that happening since many of the people here are adults. We'll be outclassed, easily.'

Near them was eruption of anger from someone. They glanced to see what was happening. A young bespectacled, Middle-Eastern guy with soft olive skin, was being shoved around by a group of troubled.

'Quit it,' The middle-eastern guy said. 'I've done nothing to do you.'

'Is that a fact?' A blonde teenager said. He pushed him to the ground. His glasses fell.

'Go somewhere. Your kind don't deserve to be here.'

'What?'

'Oi!' Brad said. 'What the hell do you think you're doing?' he barked at the group of troublemakers.

Alyssa and Eikichi followed him.

'None of your business.' The blonde teenager said.

'I'll make it my business,' Brad snapped back. 'Leave him alone.'

'No.'

The other troublemakers blocked his way.

'You piece of shit,' Brad appeared ready to lock horns. He charged at them.

'HEY!' a security officer said. 'No fighting here.' More officers came. The main officer pointed at the troublemakers. 'You lot, go away. We already have enough problems as it is. We don't need you to make another one.'

The blonde glared at the officer. Then he looked at the middle-eastern guy. 'Pfft. Come on.' He marched off to another area. His entourage followed.

Brad extended his hand to the Middle-Eastern guy. 'Need a hand.' he said

The guy smiled in appreciation. 'Thank you,' he said. 'But I can get up.' He lifted himself onto his feet. Collected his glasses. Clean them. Put them back on.

'Name's Brad Thomas.'

He nodded. 'Ali Omid.'

'Why was that guy bothering you?'

'I don't know. I glanced around and I happened to look at him. At which point he came after.'

'Hmm…' Brad looked back at the blonde teenager. The teenager was watching him with a contemptuous look. Brad ignored him.

Brad introduced Ali to Alyssa and Eikichi. They introduced themselves to Ali, briefly recounting their stories and explaining to him their reason for being here. Then he explained.

'I'm here for my family, but mostly for myself. I've been wanting to do something about this–this ordeal of ours… and I felt this might allow me to provide my contribution for the greater good.'

'Does your family know that you're here?' Alyssa asked.

'No.' He looked down afraid and ashamed. 'They'll definitely be upset when they about it. Especially my father. I didn't hear much of his opinion on the subject of the planet migration, but he forbade the family for getting involved. Said that it was best stay here and let someone else deal with this.'

'He's probably just afraid of losing you.'

'I know. Though I don't like the idea of being stuck here, feeling useless, while there's people doing something about this.'

'I understand. I know the feeling too. It's why Eikichi and I are here.' Alyssa looked at him. 'It's good that you're here. In times like this we need people like you.'

Ali smiled. 'Thank you. I appreciate your remark.'

'So you do you think you'll pass the entrance?' Brad asked.

'I think I have a chance.' He showed them a brochure. 'In here it specifies the requirements for young adults to make into the academy, which vary from those specified for adults.'

'Really?' Brad appeared interested.

Alyssa and Eikichi listened.

'Well,' Ali said, 'there are three levels. Novice, Intermediate, and Elite.'

'What are we supposed to do for novice?' Eikichi asked.

'For a novice, they are required to complete a 1500 meters run in under 7 minutes, perform 35 push-ups and 50 sit-ups in one sitting, and 12 pull-ups.'

Alyssa's eyes lit up. _I think I can do that._

Brad sighed. Dropped his head. 'Is there a level below novice?'

Eikichi peered into the room, watching the group completed the test. He inquired further about the other levels. Ali explained.

Thirty minutes had past. Alyssa observed the two assistants. Any moment from now she knew they would be taken in. Then participants from the first group were seen leaving the building via the side entrance, which caused a stir for the eagerly awaited newcomers. The group arrived fatigued and in pain, like it was their first real experience in enduring a plain and simple exercise circuit.

'I don't many of these people actually do exercise on a daily basis,' Amir pointed out.

'Or any at all.' Brad added.

'Looks that way.' Alyssa watched the group disappear into another area.

The supervisor from before walked out of the gymnasium to the waiting to take in the next set of participants. He had a small container of wristbands that were used by the first group. 'Alright,' he said. 'It's time for the next group to be assessed.'

The line advanced in with the man giving a wristband to every person permitted inside, along with Alyssa, Eikichi, and her three acquaintances. _Here we go._

 **3**

THE GROUP OF the participants assigned for the next assessment were taken in. Alyssa and her companions were lucky enough to be amongst the last people allowed inside. As they were guided into the gymnasium, she glanced around and saw a 400 meter track with a pole planted on each side, at the end of the first 100 meters. In the middle of the race track was an empty section where there was a setup of high bars for the pull-ups, with two examiners waiting for them. There was a man and woman, both appeared to be soldiers, or had some sort position in the police force. The pair wore blacks T-shirts, beige cargo pants, and thick laced boots.

Alyssa looked at Eikichi and the others. They all appeared excited with the exception of Brad, who appeared fearful. 'Are you okay, Brad?' she asked. 'You look sick.'

'Yeah, I don't feel so good,' Brad said. 'This is going to end badly for me. Oh man, very badly.' He responded as mustered his best poker face, one that made him appear less approachable and constipated

The examiners glanced at the approaching group. The man walked up to them as the stood together. 'How you guys feeling?' he asked. 'Excited?'

His question was answered with great enthusiasm from majority of the group.

'So most of you are. That's okay. My name is Felix and this is my colleague, Sarah.' He motioned his hand the lady beside him. 'We will be splitting the group into two. One group will be with me doing the compound exercises, and other will be with Sarah doing the 1500 meter run. Once the groups have completed their tasks, we'll switch. Understand?'

Everyone nodded, or voiced their confirmation.

'Alright, who is the 100th person in the group?'

'I am.' a girl replied, raising her hand.

'Everyone whose number is after her will go with Sarah. You're doing the 1500 meter run first.'

'Great,' Brad said grimly.

Alyssa walked with Eikichi and Amir in front while Brad and Drake trailed behind.

'This should be easy for you,' Eikichi told Alyssa.

Alyssa smiled. 'We'll see,' She noticed her wristband became active with a stopwatch displayed around it.

Sarah took the group to the opposite side of the 100 meter track that faced the poles. 'Okay, everyone,' she said. 'I want you to line up here and position yourself as best you can. I don't want anyone falling down accidentally. Also, if you feel you're slowing down during the run, move to the second or third lane, to allow those who are ahead of the group, to pass without manoeuvring through the crowd.'

'Come on, it's just 7 minutes. I can do this.' Brad muttered to himself.

'Keep telling yourself that, Brad.' Eikichi quipped.

'So much for the support.'

'On you marks! Get set!' Sarah said as she aimed her starting pistol up. Finger on the trigger. 'GO!'

The pistol shot echoed through the room, capturing the attention of the participants in the waiting room.

Alyssa, to her surprise, already positioned herself in the top five with ease, as the 400 meter mark was coming up. For some unknown reason, it seemed easy for her. She glanced back when she ran the curve, and could see the Eikichi and the others with intense looks on their faces, as if they were struggling already with the run. Other participants were walking off the track, either from a cramp, or had burned themselves out.

Alyssa turned her attention to the person who was in the lead. It was a guy who appeared to be in his teens. He had black, greasy hair that dropped to his neck, and standing taller than a 6-foot. As the run progressed, two people in front of Alyssa began to slow down, putting her in third. This motivated Alyssa to push herself into closer contention for first place by applying more power and stretched her stride.

Her change in technique blasted her past the third place, and put her next to the leader. She looked at the guy, who noticed her come up. For a split second, it seemed the guy smiled. _If he smiled, I didn't see it._

Eikichi and Ali watched the pair sped past them.

'Go Alyssa!' Eikichi cheered.

'Alyssa's fast.' Ali remarked.

'Yeah, she always was. If you wanted to catch in copper and robbers, you'd be spending the entire day trying to get her.'

'Do you think she can be beat the guy?'

'Don't know. He looks quite able to keep at that pace he's running at.'

'He sure does,' a voice added.

Eikichi and Amir glanced at the person next to them. It was a petite girl. She had hazelnut eyes, and wavy blonde hair dropping beside her face, with the rest held in a ponytail.

Eikichi and Ali took an interest to the girl immediately. Blushing at the sight of her bubbly cute face.

'And you are?' Eikichi asked.

'I'm Clara. I'm a friend of the guy who is running with your friend.'

They looked back at the guy beside Alyssa.

'I see.'

'What's your friend's name?' Ali asked.

'Yannick.'

Alyssa and Yannick distanced themselves from the group. They passed 1200 meter mark, and the two started to push themselves to the limit. They had turns being in the lead.

First it was Alyssa, and then it was Yannick. But it was dead even until the last 100 meters. Come on, the end is right there, Alyssa told herself, as she pushed herself to go beyond her current abilities.

Before Alyssa could advance, Yannick blitzed past her, finishing at a time of 3:57.01. Alyssa was surprised as he crossed the finish line. Alyssa completed the race two seconds later.

The first two finishers were heaving as Sarah walked to them with a tablet in her hand, which kept track on the performance of everyone running. Alyssa dropped on her knees. She never exerted herself so much in a run before.

'Whoa, that was fast!' Sarah exclaimed. She was amazed by their performance. 'Way faster than the participants from the first group, and some of those were adults. Good job, guys!'

'Thank you,' Alyssa replied, dropping her head to focus on her breathing. She heard someone approaching and looked up. It was the guy.

He appeared less fatigued than her. He extended his hand to her. Alyssa grabbed it, and was pulled upright. He nodded to her, like he was saying 'good run', and walked away.

 _Not much of speaker, I guess._

One after another, people completed their times. Eikichi and Ali completed their runs. Only Brad was left to finish the run.

'Gosh, Alyssa,' Eikichi said. 'I didn't expect you to finish the run so quickly. I think you ran past us twice.' He gasped, lying down on the floor.

'It was a close match between you and Yannick.' Ali said, setting himself beside Eikichi.

'Yannick?' Alyssa said.

'Yeah, that's his name. His friend told us when the two of you past us. She's the blonde girl over there, waving to him.' Ali pointed.

Alyssa caught sight of the girl approaching Yannick with a bottle of water.

Eikichi sat upright. His eyes on the track, watching Brad. 'Brad looks he's going to drop any moment now.'

Ali looked at the timer next to Sarah and realised there's not much time left until the 7 minutes have past. 'He has about a minute or so left to complete the run or he won't make it in.'

The three of them exchanged looks.

'Come on, Brad!' Eikichi shouted. 'You don't have much time left. Use those damn legs of yours.'

Brad looked at his wristband as he came around his last bend. Only 20 seconds left to the 7 minutes were up.

'Come on. Push. PUSH!' Brad berated himself. He ran desperately through his final 100 meters, passing a few participants. 'I'm going to make it. I'm going to make it.' He could hear his companions cheering him on. With one last push he crossed the finish line a second before the time limit expired.

'Good job, you made it.' Eikichi said, clapping Brad on his shoulders.

'Never again.' Brad cursed. He was hunched over with his hands on knees, as he gasped for air desperately.

'Oh, we're not done yet.'

'Don't remind me.'

Unaware to these participants, a man in a dark suit and shades, with black scruffy hair, leaned against the wall as he observed the activity near Ascent University. A half-burnt cigarette was locked between his fingers as he kept his lukewarm gaze trained at the streaming line of people being escorted inside the complex. The line increased tenfold since the announcement was made.

A group of teenagers raced past him, to which the man displayed little interested to them.

'Quite a commotion this space program has brought, don't you think?' a voice remarked.

The man faced the source of the voice and saw a blonde, freckled woman beside him.

'Quite? No,' He replied. His voice was husky like his vocal chords had dried up as a result of his addiction to smoking. The cigarette seized burning and was discarded in a garbage bin.

The woman smirked. 'Are you going to go there?'

'Yeah.' The man collected his small, silver briefcase that was by his feet. 'Wouldn't afford to miss it. Will you?'

'I will, at some point.'

'Better be quick,' He said, walking away. 'I have a feeling this will around only be for a limited time.'

'Will do.' She replied.

 **4**

ABOUT HALF OF the group managed to complete the run in under 8 minutes with the rest failing. Once both groups had finished their assigned task, they switched. Felix had everyone start with their push-ups and sit-ups, followed by the pull-ups.

Alysa and Yannick were the first to the finish their assigned exercises with time to spare. On this occasion Alysa came first, and to her astonishment, she felt remarkably well after the run. Her recovery was quicker than she anticipated.

'Whoa, Alyssa!' Felix said. 'With your results, you've easily made it into the advance level for adults.' He looked at Yannick. 'Even you, Yannick. It's amazing. Are you guys' athletes or something?'

Alyssa and Yannick shook their heads.

This time around, less than third of the group had made in time. Brad didn't make it this time.

'Well, there's still the written exam. So you might still make it.' Eikichi told Brad, who was panting harder than anyone there.

'Thanks,' Brad said. He looked up at Alyssa. 'Alyssa … I'm amazed … How can you be this good?'

'I'm not sure myself, Brad.' Alyssa smiled. _I'm even surprisedas well._

'Yeah, how are you this good? a girl asked, lying beside Brad. 'I struggled to keep up with you and Yannick in the run when you guys were in the top two. And, now, you're beating us easily in this.' She looked at Alyssa. 'What's your secret?'

'Who are you?' Brad asked.

'I'm Janice Godwin.' She gave her hand to Brad to shake.

Brad shook her hand, 'Brad Thomas.'

Alyssa looked at Janice, as she thought of a response, 'I don't have an answer.'

'Well then,' Janice said. 'Do me the honour of considering me as a friend, and rival. I want to know you, and challenge.'

Alyssa was surprised by Janice's declaration, 'Okay, I accept.'

'You're building quite a name for yourself, Alyssa.' someone said from behind.

Alyssa turned around and saw Clara standing by Yannick. She tilted her to side, and offered a gleeful expression. 'Keep it up. Yannick needs someone to push him around.'

Alyssa smiled, and looked at Yannick. He nodded in approval. She found it strange to be receiving remarks from other people about her physical capabilities. She never had before, and worried over her conduct towards it, feeling that she may come off as being immodest.

'Alright,' the supervisor came back with assistants when the group assembled together in the centre. 'Now that you've completed your fitness assessments, it's time to do your online quiz.'

Everyone was exhausted from the fitness, and lamented at the fact they weren't done.

'Yes, yes, yes, I know. How you can possibly continue to do another thing do this? It's terrible, isn't it. Now, before you leave, place your wristbands in the bags by the door, as you exit the building. That's all. Off you go.'

The group followed the assistants out of the gymnasium and into another building. They passed a corridor and entered a room filled with ten rows of the tables. On each row, there were ten tablets. The assistants requested the first hundred to be seated at the tables, while the other half waited outside in the seating area.

Alyssa, along with the others sat themselves comfortably, as they waited for the exam to end. She noticed the assistants instructing the participants on how to open the quiz before it commenced.

When everyone was ready, the quiz started. Everyone had finished after 45 minutes. Then the other half of the group came in. There was no assigned seats allocated, so everyone went to a seat of their choosing. The assistants helped those with an issue, and then the quiz begun.

Alyssa opened up her quiz and started reading the questions. There were two section to the quiz. There were several multiple choice questions and two short answer questions.

The questions involved maths, science and other logical based questions. However, much of the quiz focused on survival questions. These included questions like: What would you do if you were abandoned by your team? What is the best way to conserve energy? If your friend was bleeding out from a horrific wound, what is the first thing to do if you were limited with your supplies? If someone in your group disagrees with the popular opinion, how do you proceed to deal with the situation?

At the end of the quiz, everyone left the room, and proceeded out of the building. All of them felt thoroughly depleted of energy.

Alyssa realised by the end of the day, she met five people who were mostly like going to be a part of her team if they make into the program. Alyssa and Eikichi walked out of the building and could see there was still quite a queue.

'Not all of them are going to make in it,' Eikichi pointed out. 'Even if they do make it, I believe the training is going to be difficult. They may be a lot of drop-outs in the first year.'

'You're not going to be one of the drop-outs, are you?' Alyssa asked.

'You kidding? I'm in this for the long haul. I want to see this through till very end. Besides, who's going to be there to annoy you if I'm not around.'

Alyssa smiled, amused by him.

'Hey Alyssa, Eikichi, wait up!' Brad yelled to them.

They turned and saw Brad, Ali, Janice, Yannick and Clara.

'What's up?' Eikichi asked.

'We're planning to grab a bite to eat? Do you want to join us?'

Eikichi looked at Alyssa, 'Do you wanna eat?'

'I'm famished.' Alyssa said.

He looked back at Brad. 'That's a yes from both of us.'

Brad clapped his hands together in excitement. 'Great. I know a place where we can eat. It's good.'

The group made their way out of the Sport and Aquatic Centre, when an unknown blast propelled them away from the entrance along with everything behind them.

For a moment, everything was black for Alyssa. _What happened? ... Why is everything so dark?_ After what felt longer than a minute, her vision was coming back.

Alyssa felt weak. Unable to move. She was fazed by the force and noticed Eikichi beside her, shouting to her, but his voice was inaudible. She looked around and noticed the entire area was full of debris and injured citizens. Her attention moved towards the inside of the building, hoping to find someone alive. However, the thick murky smoke rising from the doors blocked her view. She could feel her body be picked up, as her hearing returned. People were in a state of sheer panic, as Alyssa spotted men and women crying over deceased loved ones. _What's going on?_

'Alyssa?' Eikichi said sternly. 'Alyssa, can you hear me? Are you alright?'

Alyssa looked at him. 'Eikichi, wh – what happened?'

'It was a bombing, Alyssa. We were attacked.' He wrapped her arm his neck and carried her away. 'Come on, let's get out of here.'

 _Attacked? Bombing? What?!_ Alyssa had questions filling into her mind, but then she remember the group she was with before the attack. 'The others? Where are they?'

'They're okay. I helped them make it out. Come on, we have to get out of here.'

As Alyssa limped away with Eikichi, the black hazy smoke rose towards Aegis. Marking the existence of a new threat other than nature itself.

 **R 5**

A DAY HAD passed since the bombing at Ascent University. The orchestration of this raised furrowing eyebrows for the government, detectives, and officials of the space program. Committing such an act was inconceivable for them and civilians at Hesta Point.

Years have passed without incident of any kind against humans after the anomaly, that the duties of security and crime investigators were hardly required since terror groups became extinct. But now with the attack, the city has been rippled with panic and concern.

A female detective stormed through her department with her two colleagues. She had light-ash-brown hair, hazel eyes, and wore a grey suit which appear slightly loose around her body. The colleague to her left was garbed in a black formal suit with a ponytail tightly wrapped against his head with white snowy-white skin, and dark shades. On her right was a man was shorter than the other man. He had black-blonde spikey hair, fashioned in a suit without the jacket, and instead wore casual shoes.

The trio proceeded inside a five meter high com room, where there were workers sitting in front computer screen, looking over sources of information pertaining to the attack. On the wall opposite them were large projection screens close to the ceiling. Each had multiple live-stream footage of CCTV cameras on the lookout for the culprit.

'Man, I can't recall the last time it was this crazy,' the black-blonde man said, looking around at the workers blistering away at the keyboard with their honed typing skills. 'Just look at them go.'

'Must the obvious be stated always be stated with you, Mark?' the female detective replied. _Though, I can't disagree with you. I can't recall any, as well._

'Sorry, just a slip of the tongue,' he said, while walking beside her. 'But you must admit, it is ridiculous, Emiya.'

Emiya shot cold look at her colleague, but remained quiet. She glanced back the workers and found a familiar face, Martha––ebony woman in a tight professional attire that accentuate her fixtures.

Martha walked them. 'Emiya,' she said in an even tone. The woman approached them. "Mark, hello." She extended her hand.

Mark shook it. 'Hello.' he said

'Luther.' She stretched out her hand to the man. Luther didn't respond. He robotically grasped her hand and shook it. His gaze never changed.

'Still not much of talker, are you?'

'Don't take it personally.' Mark remarked. 'I think it's just the programming his creators wired into him.'

'Don't get too comfortable.' Luther replied softly, yet in a stern manner.

Martha appeared as if she didn't think the moment was right to smile, but she did.

'I hope you got something now,' Emiya said. 'Otherwise, this matter is going blow-up further in our face, and not by the public.'

Martha's eyebrows rose, as if she understood the reference made by Emiya. 'Cecille?' Emiya nodded. Martha looked at room. 'Can someone please put on screen 2 the image of the man who attacked HQ, and on screen 3 the footage we found, please?'

'Yes, ma'am!' a voice shouted from the room.

The image popped up after seven seconds. The three detectives were ushered towards the projection screens.

'So far, Martha said. 'we have reason to believe that this man was behind the attack. He was seen as you can see with a briefcase which contained a bomb.'

On screen 3, footage of the man was played. He walked through the crowd at HQ before standing in the middle of the room. Five seconds later the bomb detonated and camera connection cut off.

'What the hell?" Mark asked. 'Did he just kamikaze himself?'

'Yeah.'

'To see something like this is rarity. I thought suicide missions were no longer exercised.' He gave a look to Martha.

'That was the case until now.'

'We're you able to retrieve the briefcase?' Emiya asked.

'Yeah, we were. Unfortunately, the design was homemade. We couldn't find a single piece on the device that could be of a potential use in assisting us with this investigation.'

'I see. What do we know about the guy?'

'Nothing. The guy is a ghost and alive.'

 _Alive?_ Emiya shot a look at Martha.

'Surprised? So was I.'

'How is that even possible?' Mark asked 'He just blew himself up. I just saw it.' He pointed out.

'I know, and I'm not questioning what you saw. However, this footage we have of him shortly after the attack entering and disappearing one of the busiest streets in Hesta Point renders our conclusion moot.'

Emiya watched as the man, who blew himself up moments ago, appeared unscathed, as he entered a sea of people walking to and fro, between shops and restaurants before losing sight of him.

Luther spoked. 'Was there any other camera nearby that could have captured him? Those cameras set up there have facial recognition embedded into their system. It should have been easy to pick him up on one of them."

Martha answered. 'Yes, it should have been easy. But thing is, he's not in the system. Hence my reason for using the word 'ghost'. I've had people search through our records, and we've found nothing him – that includes our Natal Records.'

'That's impossible,' Mark said. He couldn't believe it.

Emiya remained quiet. She kept her surprised to herself.

The Natal Records was an archive which kept records of every person born and maintained monitoring on their health throughout their life on daily basis, until their passing. This information is stored in a unified object storage and legislated a century ago, hence their surprise.

'I had a several of my detectives investigate that street. They still are this very moment.'

'That'll prove to be exercise of futility.' Luther remarked. 'It would take too long to find him, even if you had the manpower.'

'Could you replay the footage for me, please?' Emiya asked.

Martha had a remote control, clicked play. The footage depicted the man striding into an alley with people emerging and disappearing. The man never appeared again.

'Is this the only camera positioned near this alley?' Emiya inquired without averting her gaze.

'Yes.' Martha answered.

Emiya didn't reply. Her eyes studying the footage. Arms folded.

'So, how do we proceed?' Martha asked Emiya.

'If I recall correctly, there is underground passage to that street. There should be an pothole by the entrance which should lead to the channel underneath the street. If none of the cameras posted in that street picked, it's possible the man using the passages to move throughout the city.' She looked at Martha.

'It's possible. Do you want me to assign my men to the search.'

'No, I'll investigate myself with Mark and Luther.' Emiya started to leave.. 'Just continue with your search on the ground level. If I don't find anything, then we'll stop our search in that area.'

Martha agreed to the plan. 'Good luck.'

Emiya nodded in acknowledgement. She left with her colleagues and pondered on the findings. Mark expressed his thoughts on the matter, while Luther remained quiet.

'So we're in the hunt for a man,' Mark said. 'who has been around without anyone noticing.'

'We don't know that certain.'

'If it didn't show on the Natal Records, it's possible.'

Yes it is, Emiya thought.

The detectives headed to towards the street. It full of people going about their business while they marched through in search of the pothole. It took long for them to locate the nearest one which was about fifty meters into the street. Luther and Mark glanced around and spotted personnel of Martha striding through, investigating the area and interviewing shop owners, as Emiya slid the pothole lid aside.

'Alright, let's go.' Emiya said. She entered.

'Did you find the pothole?' Martha asked via their shared communication channel, which Emiya heard through the earpiece.

'We did.' Emiya climbed down before dropping to her feet. 'I'll keep you informed should we find anything.' She collected a flashlight from her pocket, pointing it around. The ground by her feet was dry with several puddles of water.

'Be careful down.'

'We will,' Mark answered.

Luther and Mark dropped after her as she scanned the dim, cylinder channel before following the passage underneath the street.

'I wonder what we're going to find,' Mark said, curious about their possible discovery. 'For all we know this might have been a rendezvous point, hideout, or an irrelevant passage used a means to escape capture.'

'We'll find out soon,' Emiya said. 'Do you bring the Zoners?'

'Sure did.' He took out three tennis ball-sized contraptions and held them in his hand, after he pressed a red button on each one. Almost instantly, the Zoners after becoming operational. The three levitated in front of them. 'Right or left?'

Emiya glanced both sides of the tunnel before deciding on a course for the Zoners to search. 'Right.'

He pushed them forward in the same direction of street with the Zoners flying away. 'Gotta love technology.' Mark quipped.

The detectives walked on ahead for about ten minutes without a thing or person in sight.

Emiya kept her attention fixed upon the darkness in front. _I think we've past the street already. I wonder how long this tunnel extends._ She glance at the walls surrounding them. There was a lack of colour resembled a similar feeling had for the current situation they were in.

'Has the Zoners picked up anything yet?' Emiya asked.

'No. Not yet,' Mark replied.

Emiya pressed her finger softly against the earpiece. 'Martha, are you there?'

'Yes,' Martha said. 'What is it?'

'We're still on the path and have yet to stray from the tunnel, however, I need to know what lies ahead. Have you received a layout of the underground passages the Zoners picked up?'

'Yes, I have.'

'Good. Tell me.'

'Well, from where you guys are, you'll face a fork in the road. There will be three pathways which you could take.'

'Do you know where they all lead to?'

'I do. The tunnel on your right leads to an intersection with multiple passages leading to rural areas, and others taking you deeper into the city. The middle channel leads you directly to the sewage system, with the remaining tunnel taking you straight to underground train lines.'

'Whoa, that was quick.' Mark said.

 _Still no sign of the man._ Emiya exhaled. 'Alright, thank you.'

'Hey, any of you have an idea on what the bombing at Headquarters meant?'

Luther answered. 'If we treat him as a terrorist, than typically, the actions committed by a terrorist are influenced by their beliefs they consider to be greater than ideologies upheld by the general populace.'

'Yeah, and what beliefs would that be then? Why on Earth would they bomb HQ?'

'Someone who disagreed with what was happening there.' Emiya added.

'You think this person had a problem with the space program?'

'They a problem with something.'

The three continued with their walk before coming to a halt in front three passages.

'So, do we go on ahead?' Mark asked.

'No, it would be a waste of time,' Emiya replied. 'If the Zoners didn't picked up anything, then there's no point in us wondering further. I'm going to recall them, and we'll continue our search elsewhere.'

'Okay. Where though? I believed this was our best lead in finding the guy.'

'So did I." Emiya looked at Luther, when her attention darted to the alarm of her wrist controller.

'What's that?'

'One of the Zoner had detected something." Emiya pressed down commands for a small hologram projection to displayed at the palm of her hand.

'I hope it's just the guy and nothing else.' Mark said, while he moved closer to Emiya to view the stream.

The projection screen showed a live stream of the bomber firing a heavy automated weapon at the Zoner as he ran away.

'It's him.' Emiya said.

 **I HOPE YOU ENJOYED IT**

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 **THANK YOU!**


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